Known ambulance cots presently used by paramedics and ambulance operators use loading wheels to help facilitate the loading and unloading of the cots into and out of the transport section of an ambulance or other emergency response vehicles. Such loading wheels are typically mounted at or near the front section of the cot and rotate about a single axis. This single axis of rotation provided by the loading wheels limits the maneuverability of the cot to a straight line, i.e., forward and back directions, as intended.
Ambulance cots of the type known as roll-in, multi-level cots have legs that swing rearward as the cot is loaded into the ambulance, which places the cot in its lowest position. Such cot are positionable conveniently in the lowest position even when not being loading into the ambulance, in order to permit loading of a patient onto the cot. However, while in the lowest position wherein such known cots are support on a support surface via wheels of the rearwardly swung legs and the loading wheels for stability, movement of such cots is limited to the forward and back directions due to the single axis of rotation of the loading wheels. Such limited range of motion with a roll-in cot in the lowest position is not desirably in all situation.